Pride
by silverflight8
Summary: A "deleted scene" from Ambition. WARNING: Potential spoilers up to Revelation
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The story that I'm building on was written by and belongs to Kate Brian. Many thanks.

The person who said that "pride goeth before the fall" was right. Before, I had everything—Josh's love, Noelle and the Billings Girls' friendship, and the general awe of the school. I lived in the most sought after dorm on campus. I was proud of how far I had climbed; me, Scholarship Reed. Now, after the Legacy debacle and resulting mess, I was the plague that everyone eagerly avoided.

I crossed the quad to walk to Pemberly. I had purposely left dinner as fast as possible, unable to stand all of the stares and whispering from the students in the cafeteria. They looked at me furtively, and then bent their heads down to talk to their friends.

The avoidance was the least of it. Noelle was unreachable, a cold, icy, steel-built tower; Amberly Carmicheal, who had practically prostrated in front of the Billings girls a few days ago, had her nose in the air. And what smarted was that all the girls that I had thought were friends, true sisters, had instead voted me out without even listening to what I had to say.

I dumped all my books on the shabby desk in my room and exhaled audibly. The paranoia was really getting to me. How was a person supposed to live with a stalker? A stalker who was a potential murderer?

It was almost ten thirty when I finally got into bed. There, I stared at the flaking ceiling and tried not to let my thoughts wander to Ivy Slade, Cheyenne Martin, or Ariana Osgood. No such luck. I sat up, the covers falling, and padded to my desk.

I stared at the slip with all of my suspects on it for a long, long time, until I was so exhausted I fell onto the bed and slept.

Review, please. If you've made it this far….


	2. Chapter 2

I was weaving and trying to get through the crowd when I spotted Reed

Disclaimer: See last "chapter"

A/N: I do not promise anymore chapters. This is not from Reed's point of view—I'll leave you to guess the person in this one. The stories are not in chronological order, but they will all take place in Revelation.

I was weaving and trying to get through the crowd when I spotted Reed. She was staring at Josh, looking stunned. I smirked inside, happy that Reed was finally getting what she owed, and stepped up onto the stage.

I pulled the microphone away from Tiffany, who was too surprised to react. Glancing over the crowd, I felt powerful—here I could stop Billings, when all the most important alumnae were here, and hanging onto my words.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Ivy Slade and I'm here to tell you all, well, why _you're _really here." Out on the floor, Reed was still paralyzed. I continued with my talk, speaking as quickly as I could, knowing it was only a few minutes that I'd be allowed the mike. Although, it seemed to me, that Madame President was not up to anything then. She looked dazed.

Oh, the hypocrisy. All the Billings Girls' promises and words were false, like their friendship and sisterhood. They were smiling-faced and beautiful on the outside; inside, they were rotted through.

I could tell what I was saying was getting to the alumnae. Whispers and tittering were drifting up to the stage, and I saw several guests look at the current Billings Girls with a touch of suspicion. Josh smiled at me from the crowd as the Twin Cities pushed Reed forward.

I smiled at the crowd. "Oh, look, it's Reed Brennan, president of Billings." The audience turned to look, as she stumbled up the steps. I grabbed her arm and yanked her up, shoving the microphone into her clammy hands.

Reed was falling apart on stage when Noelle—curse her—turned up. Then—shockingly—she admitted the Billings Girls were everything I had said. My eyes narrowed. That girl was far too calm and collected for my comfort. By all rights, she should have been embarrassed, trying to cover over. After all, admitting that the Billings Girls were the ones that got away with everything, and that they were the stuck-ups that ran Easton practically made this fundraiser a failure.

She was cunning. In a few moments, Noelle had reassured the alumnae that Billings was not doing anything with the money, that they were making Easton better. I stood there, arms crossed and seething. Everyone believed her, despite believing me earlier. I exited the stage as soon as I could.

Outside, the wind blew between buildings, cold and cutting. I saw Reed was out, too, and watched with amusement as Dash McCafferty arrived at the curb and spoke to Reed. My phone had received the tape, too. When Dash left to go inside, I stepped behind Reed and spoke.

"Guess now you know what it feels." I said.


End file.
